56 RISE OF THE MARATHA POWER
inent was introduced and extended by Shivaji throughout his
dominions. Native chroniclers notice this departure from old
traditions in these two points more prominently because Shivaji
appears to have laid great stress on it. It was his conviction
that much of the disorder in old times was due to the entrusting
of revenue duties to Zamindars of Districts and villages. They
collected more from the rayats, and paid less into the treasury
than was strictly due, and used their opportunities to create dis-
turbances and to resist the commands of the central power.
Shivaji engaged the services of paid men—Kamavisdars, Mahal-
karis, and Subhedars,—for the duties till then performed by
Zamindars. It was the Kamavisdar's duty to levy the grain and
cash payments while the crops were standing. The fields were
carefully measured out, and entered in books in the name of the
holders thereof, and annual kabulayats were taken from them
for the payments due. In the case of grain payments, the Govern-
ment assessment never exceeded two-fifths of the actual yield. The
remaining three-fifths were left to the cultivator as his share of
the crops. In times of distress, or in case of accident, tagai ad-
vances were made liberally, and their recovery provided for by
instalments spread over four or five years. The Subhedars per-
formed both revenue and criminal duties. The work of Civil
Courts was not then of much importance, and when disputes
arose, parties were referred by the Subhedar to the Panch of the
villages, or to those of other villages in important cases> and en-
forced their decisions.
*The civil organization of the District was, of course, sub-
ordinate to the authorities at head-quarters, two of whom—the
Pant Amatya and the Pant Sachiv, had respectively the charge
of what in our time would be called the office of Finance Minis-
ter and the General Accountant and Auditor. The district ac-
counts had to be sent to these officers, and were there collated
together, and irregularities detected and punished. These officers
had power to depute men on their establishments to supervise
the working of the district officers. The Pant Amatya and the
Sachiv were, next to the Peshwa, the highest civil officers, and
they had, besides these revenue duties, military commands. They
were both important members of the Board of Administration,
called the Ashta Pradhan or Cabinet of eight heads of depart-
ments. The Peshwa was Prime Minister, next to the king, and
was at the head of both the civil and military administration, and
sat first on the right hand below the throne. The Senapati was
in charge of the military administration, and sat first on the left
side. Amatya and Sacfuv sat next to the Peshwa, while the Mantri